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Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Secret History: the Ballot, the Borough and Britain

Friday 13 November, 12.30 – 1.30

Nelson Room, Pontefract Town Hall.

A rare opportunity to examine the impact of secret voting in
Britain. Join one of Britain’s most important parliamentary
experts, David Natzler, Clerk of the House of Commons, and curators
from Pontefract Museum to explore the seismic change to Britain’s democratic
system caused by Britain’s first secret ballot in Pontefract in 1872.

The ballot box used in 1872

Tickets are free, but must be booked by calling 01924
302700, emailing or collecting a ticket from Pontefract Museum.

The ballot box

Pontefract
was centre stage on the 15 August 1872 when the first secret ballot in the
Northern Hemisphere was held to elect a member of Parliament.

This was
the first time that people had voted in secret by placing an ‘X’ on a ballot
paper next to the name of their choice – the system that we now take for
granted. One of
the boxes used to hold the ballot papers is now on display in Pontefract
Museum. It is still marked with the wax seals used to ensure the votes were not
tampered with once the box was closed. The seal
was made using a liquorice stamp from Frank Dunhill’s factory, which shows the
image of a castle and an owl. The owl was the emblem of the Savile family who
were local landowners. The castle is similar to the design that is still seen
on Pontefract cakes today. For many years Pontefract cakes were given their
distinctive design by hand using just this sort of stamp.

Pontefract
has held a charter since 1484 so it is odd that the box was not sealed using an
official stamp. Perhaps it was a sign that the local officials did not think
much of this new system of voting. Or maybe they just used what first came to
hand, which in a town so involved in the liquorice industry, was this stamp. Frank
Dunhill may have been a presiding officer overseeing the ballot. One of his
roles would have been to check that the box was empty before voting began – to
prove that there were no voting papers already in the box. He could then have
used his stamp to seal the box ready for use.

The votes
were counted and the results announced at the Town Hall in Pontefract, where
H.C. Childers was elected MP for the town.The Times
newspaper of the following day reported that‘The
first election under the Ballot Act has been throughout peaceful. Persons of
great experience declare that they never saw a contested election in which less
intoxicating liquor was drunk. No charges of bribery are rife, and the election
appears to have been fought on both sides on principles of purity’. This was
a great change from earlier elections, which had often been riotous and
uncontrolled affairs, with people voting openly rather than in secret. At the
time there were even complaints that this new system took ‘all the life’ out of
voting. This first ballot was however seen as a success and set the standard
that we still use worldwide today.

The ballot box has recently been 'on tour' to parliament as part of the Festival of Freedoms, and can now be seen at Pontefract Museum.